Top EU court wants reinstatement of Polish judges

Poland's PAP news agency reported that the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Polish Supreme Court judges sent off into retirement should be reinstated in their posts.

The EU Court of Justice ordered that a reform of the Polish Supreme Court be suspended until a fuller ruling is made on a complaint submitted by the European Commission against Poland.

Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki, whose governing conservatives introduced sweeping legal reforms contested by Brussels, responded to Friday's ruling by saying: “After analysing this, we will address this."

The Polish government has previously insisted it has the right to carry out reforms needed in the country.

Changes to retirement age

Earlier this year, a new law regulating Poland’s Supreme Court came into effect, setting a retirement age of 65 for judges.

In July, the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm launched a procedure against Warsaw over the reform, saying that it undermined “the principle of judicial independence, including the irremovability of judges.”

The move followed the European Commission last December taking the unprecedented step of triggering Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Poland, stepping up pressure on Warsaw over judicial reforms and possibly paving the way for sanctions being imposed on Poland.

But Poland's governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which came to power in late 2015, has said that sweeping changes were needed to reform an inefficient and sometimes corrupt judicial system tainted by the communist past, accusing judges of being an elite, self-serving clique often out of touch with the problems of ordinary citizens.

(pk/gs)

Source: IAR